58 h. ago No major PLA activities near Taiwan after ‘troublemaker’ Lai’s policy speech

The People’s Liberation Army has refrained from conducting a large-scale drill near Taiwan following its leader’s annual policy speech – an address seen as less provocative than last year’s, which drew sabre-rattling from Beijing. Figures released by Taiwan’s defence ministry showed there was no increase in the number of PLA warplanes and warships detected near the island following William Lai Ching-te’s Double Tenth address on October 10. According to the Taiwanese figures, the PLA conducted...

Events

58 h. ago No major PLA activity near Taiwan after ‘troublemaker’ Lai’s policy speech

The People’s Liberation Army (PLA) has refrained from conducting a large-scale drill near Taiwan following its leader’s annual policy speech – an address seen as less provocative than last year’s, which drew sabre-rattling from Beijing. Figures released by Taiwan’s defence ministry showed there was no increase in the number of PLA warplanes and warships detected near the island following William Lai Ching-te’s Double Tenth address on October 10. According to the Taiwanese figures, the PLA...

Events

7 d. ago French PM backs suspending pension reform until 2027 in key move for survival

French Prime minister Sebastien Lecornu will propose the suspension of a contested plan raising the retirement age from 62 to 64, in a move to avoid his fragile minority government being immediately toppled. Lecornu said on Tuesday in a speech at the National Assembly that the law, a flagship policy of French President Emmanuel Macron, would be put on pause until after the next presidential election, to be held in 2027. The Socialist Party, which is not part of the government, had demanded that...

Events

9 d. ago CCTV drama Silent Honour marks rare salute to Communist Party spies in Taiwan

Patriotic films in mainland China have long celebrated undercover agents of the Communist Party, their operations portrayed as pivotal to securing victory in the 1940s civil war against the Kuomintang and the founding of the People’s Republic. Less known are the clandestine activities carried out by these agents in Taiwan, where their efforts met with a harsh fate. Covert operations there were systematically crushed by the KMT, resulting in the capture and execution of many operatives. But...

Events

1 week ago US and China have killed free trade, former French minister says

Former French finance minister Eric Lombard accused the United States and China of killing free trade and called for the European Union to pursue a more “nationalistic” approach to trade policy in response during a speech in Paris on Thursday. “Free trade is over, it is dead,” Lombard told a summit on competitiveness organised by Politico in the French capital. He urged France and Europe to “wake up” to the fact that the US and China were employing unfair trade practices that deviate from free...

Politics

1 week ago ‘Free trade is over, it is dead’, former French minister declares

Former French finance minister Eric Lombard accused the United States and China of killing free trade and called for the European Union to pursue a more “nationalistic” approach to trade policy in response during a speech in Paris on Thursday. “Free trade is over, it is dead,” Lombard told a summit on competitiveness organised by Politico in the French capital. He urged France and Europe to “wake up” to the fact that the US and China were employing unfair trade practices that deviate from free...

Politics

1 week ago Police summon brother of Paul Ha, ‘member’ of subversive ‘Hong Kong Parliament’

Police have summoned the brother of yet another activist wanted for his involvement in the “Hong Kong Parliament”, a group deemed subversive by authorities, to assist with an ongoing investigation, the Post has learned. A source said that the 72-year-old brother of Paul Ha Hoi-chun was asked to report to Tseung Kwan O police station on Thursday morning to help with the probe involving the Taiwan-based activist and was expected to leave before noon. Ha, 60, is among 15 activists who were each...

Politics